Hit up the park this past weekend.
ferry wasn't to bad, 50 bucks for my over height, over length (thank you saris 4 bike rack…) Delica, plus some 15 per person. 80 bucks bucks total didn't seem unreasonable being that the trip back is free.
Camped on an FSR fri night and headed for the park sat morn. After a short drive down a dusty FSR we reached the entrance (lowered cars be wear… there are water bars and washboard). Upon reaching the parking lot we were met with a friendly greeting and guided where to park, unloaded the vans, and headed to the main tent to get signed in. Music was pumping from a pretty bad ass sound system (you can hear it throughout the entire park) and the general atmosphere was very laid back and chill.
Next we headed to the shuttle tent where we were greeted by Intern, and he recommended we warm up on "Dirt Wave". So off we go, bikes and riders piled into the back of a beat up ford F250 and we headed up what seemed like 45 degree shuttle road to the top of the park. Shuttles run about 8 min apart with only a short 2 min ride to the top. Dirt wave was a very flowy downhill pump track, not much in the way of air but you can carry some nice speed speed though the well built berms and rhythm sections. We then moved onto the red trail, black, then proline. Though they have a double black rating it seems there is no double black trail at this time.
Around lunch time we stopped for a break at the shuttle tent, and grabbed ourselves a few burgers from the BBQ. 15 bucks seemed a little steep at first… but after taking a bite the price didn't seem so bad. Around this time an off road ambulance appeared painted up in "hot wheels" livery. Turns out Ronnie Renner was on a trip up to Crankworx and stopped by the park with his son for some laps. I see why he holds a world record for jumping, and we got to listen to some crazy stories on the shuttle rides to the top.
There is also still no trail map available and we did not find "Flight Deck" until the very last shuttle of the day (4pm). So to find this trail, when you hit the main FSR, turn right and follow it for about 100m, flight Deck is on the left. It looks like there will be a new entrance from Dirt Wave soon, but currently it is just roughed in. I will note though that as fast you start.. you are finished. As the trails are fun they are also very short taking only a couple minutes to complete at speed.
So in closing, the park has a killer vibe and the coastal crew has definitely started something very special. However don't go expecting whistler style iron man runs to the bottom. With limited trail options, laps are short sweet, but you will get many of them in. My only real complaint so to speak is the lack of variation between trails. From one trail to the next they are all very similar, however talking to Intern they have some big plans for the winter season. I look forward to seeing what gets rolled out.